TY - JOUR
T1 - Bats are rare reservoirs of Staphylococcus aureus complex in Gabon
AU - Held, Jana
AU - Gmeiner, Markus
AU - Mordmüller, Benjamin
AU - Matsiégui, Pierre Blaise
AU - Schaer, Juliane
AU - Eckerle, Isabella
AU - Weber, Natalie
AU - Matuschewski, Kai
AU - Bletz, Stefan
AU - Schaumburg, Frieder
PY - 2017/1
Y1 - 2017/1
N2 - The colonization of afro-tropical wildlife with Staphylococcus aureus and the derived clade Staphylococcus schweitzeri remains largely unknown. A reservoir in bats could be of importance since bats and humans share overlapping habitats. In addition, bats are food sources in some African regions and can be the cause of zoonotic diseases. Here, we present a cross-sectional survey employing pharyngeal swabs of captured and released bats (n = 133) in a forest area of Gabon. We detected low colonization rates of S. aureus (4–6%) and S. schweitzeri (4%) in two out of four species of fruit bats, namely Rousettus aegyptiacus and Micropteropus pusillus, but not in insectivorous bats. Multilocus sequence typing showed that S. aureus from Gabonese bats (ST2984, ST3259, ST3301, ST3302) were distinct from major African human associated clones (ST15, ST121, ST152). S. schweitzeri from bats (ST1697, ST1700) clustered with S. schweitzeri from other species (bats, monkeys) from Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. In conclusion, colonization rates of bats with S. aureus and S. schweitzeri were low in our study. Phylogenetic analysis supports an intense geographical dispersal of S. schweitzeri among different mammalian wildlife hosts.
AB - The colonization of afro-tropical wildlife with Staphylococcus aureus and the derived clade Staphylococcus schweitzeri remains largely unknown. A reservoir in bats could be of importance since bats and humans share overlapping habitats. In addition, bats are food sources in some African regions and can be the cause of zoonotic diseases. Here, we present a cross-sectional survey employing pharyngeal swabs of captured and released bats (n = 133) in a forest area of Gabon. We detected low colonization rates of S. aureus (4–6%) and S. schweitzeri (4%) in two out of four species of fruit bats, namely Rousettus aegyptiacus and Micropteropus pusillus, but not in insectivorous bats. Multilocus sequence typing showed that S. aureus from Gabonese bats (ST2984, ST3259, ST3301, ST3302) were distinct from major African human associated clones (ST15, ST121, ST152). S. schweitzeri from bats (ST1697, ST1700) clustered with S. schweitzeri from other species (bats, monkeys) from Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. In conclusion, colonization rates of bats with S. aureus and S. schweitzeri were low in our study. Phylogenetic analysis supports an intense geographical dispersal of S. schweitzeri among different mammalian wildlife hosts.
KW - Staphylococcus schweitzeri
KW - Africa
KW - gabon
KW - bats
KW - genotyping
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84999861311&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.meegid.2016.11.022
DO - 10.1016/j.meegid.2016.11.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 27894991
AN - SCOPUS:84999861311
SN - 1567-1348
VL - 47
SP - 118
EP - 120
JO - Infection, Genetics and Evolution
JF - Infection, Genetics and Evolution
ER -